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My First Oxford Book of Poems
From seeing shapes in clouds to the colourful peacock, and from the silly old baboon to the sounds of the sea and the rhythm of the banjo dance, here is a wonderfully varied collection of first poems drawn together by best-selling anthologist John Foster. Children will love the mix of poems
covering familiar surroundings and those that are more exotic or nonsensical which capture their imagination. A huge range of favourite poets is included, such as Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, Ted Hughes, Charles Causley, James Berry, Eleanor Farjeon, and Spike Milligan. Beautifully illustrated in colour
throughout by a number of different artists, this book is a very useful resource and an ideal gift.
covering familiar surroundings and those that are more exotic or nonsensical which capture their imagination. A huge range of favourite poets is included, such as Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, Ted Hughes, Charles Causley, James Berry, Eleanor Farjeon, and Spike Milligan. Beautifully illustrated in colour
throughout by a number of different artists, this book is a very useful resource and an ideal gift.
- GenresPoetry
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
2 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
John Foster
271 books5 followersJohn Foster taught English for twenty years before becoming a full-time writer. He is the author of over 100 books for classroom use including the best-selling PSHE and Citizenship course Your Life. He is also a highly regarded children's poet, anthologist and poetry performer.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 24, 2010
The book is a charming collection of children's poem. It covers themes about living creatures, observing the nature at the seaside, enjoying the scenery from dusk till dawn. 'The Falling Star' uses rhyming couplets and is thus easy to remember.
The Falling Star
Sara Teasdale
I saw a star slide down the sky,
Blinding the north as it went by,
Too burning and too hot to hold,
Too lovely to be bought or sold,
Good only to make wishes on
And then forever to be gone.
'The Night Will Never Stay' compares the passage of time at night to 'sorrow' and 'tune', which is very romantic.
The Night Will Never Stay
Eleanor Farjeon
The night will never stay,
The night will still go by,
Though with a million stars
You pin it to the sky;
Though you bind it wit the blowing wind
And buckle it with the moon,
The night will slip away
Like sorrow or a tune.
It also includes poems about weathers and seasons as well as fantastical and nonsensical poems. 'The Flattered Flying-Fish' is an imaginary conversation between the shark and the flying-fish. It ends with an exclamatory remark that 'the moon will not shine on your beauty again' to mock at the foolishness and the vanity of beauty creatures. It reminds us of the story of the wolf and the sheep. How sad it is.
The Flattered Flying-Fish
E.V. Rieu
Said the Shark to the Flying-Fish over
the phone:
'Will you join me tonight? I am
dining alone.
Let me order a nice little dinner
for two!
And come as you are, in your
shimmering blue.'
Said the Flying-Fish: 'Fancy
remembering me,
And the dress that I wore at the
Porpoises' tea!'
'How could I forget?' said the Shark
in his guile:
'I expect you at eight!' and rang off
with a smile.
She has powdered her nose,
she has put on her things;
She is off with one flap of her
luminous wings.
O little one, lovely, light-hearted
and vain,
The Moon will not shine on your beauty
again!
All poems in the book are easy to read and it gives a good start for children who would like to read and write more poems when they are getting older.
The Falling Star
Sara Teasdale
I saw a star slide down the sky,
Blinding the north as it went by,
Too burning and too hot to hold,
Too lovely to be bought or sold,
Good only to make wishes on
And then forever to be gone.
'The Night Will Never Stay' compares the passage of time at night to 'sorrow' and 'tune', which is very romantic.
The Night Will Never Stay
Eleanor Farjeon
The night will never stay,
The night will still go by,
Though with a million stars
You pin it to the sky;
Though you bind it wit the blowing wind
And buckle it with the moon,
The night will slip away
Like sorrow or a tune.
It also includes poems about weathers and seasons as well as fantastical and nonsensical poems. 'The Flattered Flying-Fish' is an imaginary conversation between the shark and the flying-fish. It ends with an exclamatory remark that 'the moon will not shine on your beauty again' to mock at the foolishness and the vanity of beauty creatures. It reminds us of the story of the wolf and the sheep. How sad it is.
The Flattered Flying-Fish
E.V. Rieu
Said the Shark to the Flying-Fish over
the phone:
'Will you join me tonight? I am
dining alone.
Let me order a nice little dinner
for two!
And come as you are, in your
shimmering blue.'
Said the Flying-Fish: 'Fancy
remembering me,
And the dress that I wore at the
Porpoises' tea!'
'How could I forget?' said the Shark
in his guile:
'I expect you at eight!' and rang off
with a smile.
She has powdered her nose,
she has put on her things;
She is off with one flap of her
luminous wings.
O little one, lovely, light-hearted
and vain,
The Moon will not shine on your beauty
again!
All poems in the book are easy to read and it gives a good start for children who would like to read and write more poems when they are getting older.
October 6, 2021
This book had great potential but just didn't captivate or even interest us! I couldn't find any particularly well-known or interesting poems. I'd recommend "A Child's Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson, or a collection from Poetry for Young People over this one. We also love Sing a Song of Seasons, a Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year, Julie Andrew's Collection of Songs, Poems, and Lullabies...so it's not that we dislike poetry, just something about this collection didn't do it for us!
March 16, 2013
This book is a collection of many different childrens poems. This is a great book for kids, it is nonsensical and I believe young children would enjoy reading it with a parent.
November 11, 2013
Gift from Aunt Tee Tee and Uncle Deggor.
June 15, 2013
nice poems and illustrations
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews